Monday, June 22, 2015
Invective
Denis Diderot (1713-1784), Pensées philosophiques XV (tr. Margaret Jourdain):
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People only take refuge in invective when they run short of proofs. Of two engaged in argument, it is a hundred to one that the man in the wrong will become angry. "You thunder instead of answering," says Menippus to Jupiter; "are you then in the wrong?"
On n'a recours aux invectives que quand on manque de preuves. Entre deux controversistes, il y a cent à parier contre un que celui qui aura tort se fâchera. "Tu prends ton tonnerre au lieu de répondre," dit Ménippe à Jupiter; "tu as donc tort?"
